This invention relates to a process for pre-treating sea water so that it can be more effectively desalinated. In particular, it relates to a process in which certain compounds are added to sea water, which results in the precipitation of salts from the sea water, followed by desalination of the treated water.
As populations increase across the world, the supply of fresh water is not increasing as rapidly. This has resulted in local and national conflicts over water rights.
About 70 percent of the world's population lives within 50 miles of the sea and the sea could provide an almost inexhaustible source of fresh water if it could be inexpensively desalinated. The two principal processes for desalinating sea water are reverse osmosis and flash evaporation.
In reverse osmosis, the sea water is forced through membranes, which prevent most of the salts in the sea water from passing. In flash evaporation, the sea water is heated in special coils and evaporated water is condensed, leaving behind the salts. In both processes, only about 30 to 40% of the water is recovered and the remaining water, in which the salts are more highly concentrated, is dumped back into the sea, which can adverse affect marine life.